Our First Christmas

Rory and Abby in their special rocking-chairs that Uncle Jackson and Aunt Ingrid gave them for Christmas!!
Rory in her rocker

Abby's thinking very hard about something

Braxton, Abby & Rory

Aunt Rachel, Abby and Rory

Great-Grandma Hanna, Abby and Rory

Great-Grandma Hanna and Rory

Rory catching a nap at Gigi's house

Abby gave out after the present opening marathon at Gigi's house

We Love Our Dance Tower!!!!

Daddy trying to put all the toys together. Toy makers are sadistic individuals.

"Excuse me. I'm trying to have my morning cup of tea!" ~Rory

Abby's diving into the presents

"Are you sure it's ok to go near the tree Mom?"

"Mom, why are we up this early again?" ~ Abby

Abby's not conscious yet

Daddy and Rory trying to wake up Christmas morning

Abby on Christmas morning

Rory on Christmas morning

Daddy holding his sleeping angels. They've been entertaining 7 adults all evening!!

Rory opening her gift from Aunt Rachel

Abby opening her gift from Aunt Rachel

Mimi Sue and Abby

Grandad (Michael's Dad) and Rory

Grandad, Rory, Mimi Sue and Abby

Abby with Great-Grandpa Brauchi. They are great pals!!

This Christmas was by far the best Christmas that I can ever remember. I'm sure that you can't guess why. I will never forget the precious memories of watching the girls open presents, paricipate in family traditions and be with our friends and family during this special season. Not to mention, on Dec. 23, Rory took her very first step!!! We were so excited!!

We attended our annual Christmas Eve Candle-Light service at our church this year. As I held one of my beautiful daughters and sang the hymns, I got choked up thinking about how blessed we are and how I never thought that I would be holding my own precious baby at such a special service... and this year, I held two precious baby girls that I share with the most wonderful man in the world. Even thinking about it now, I get all choked up.

We spent Christmas Eve with Michael's grandparents, parents and sister. We all had such a wonderful time!! The girls opened their first Christmas presents there (it didn't take them long to get things figured out). It was so good to see everyone there... especially Michael's sister, Rachel. The girls have taken to really enjoying being around Rachel very quickly. What a special time!! We had our family Christmas (just the four of us) at home on Christmas morning. Michael and I took down the play-yard from around the tree and just let the girls attack their presents. What a fun and amazing time together!! We spent Christmas day with my family and opened presents for quite a while. The girls were so tired afterward that they fell asleep on the couch. We spent the afternoon at Michael's Grandmother Hanna's house. We had such a good time seeing everyone there, as well. The day after Christmas, we were able to spend time with Michael's parents, Aunt Rachel, Uncle Jackson, Aunt Ingrid, Uncle Greg, Aunt Apryl, Chesley and Stella. It was a fun time!! I can't tell you how excited we were to get to spend such a wonderful time with everyone!! The girls, of course, loved getting to open presents. They got all sorts of special goodies from so many different people!! We were also able to spend some quality time with both Rory and Abby, as well as so many special people. I could go on and on about how special this time was for Michael and I (and the girls). We have been blessed more than we could have ever imagined possible. We have two absolutely perfect and adorable angels. We have friends and family that love us and mean the world to us. We have each other. We have our faith and an awesome God. We are truly blessed!!